Policy & Practice April 2015

The Magazine of the American Public Human Services Association April 2015

How human services delivery can hear it, respond to it, and better serve it The Consumer Voice

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contents www.aphsa.org

Vol. 73, No. 2 April 2015

departments

features

8

Meeting the People Where They Are

3 Director’s Memo Previewing APHSA’s 2015 National Policy Forum

Increasing financial well-being through integrating financial capability services

6 Spotlight on Foster Care

Engaging youth voices: Basing policy changes in daily realities

7 Spotlight on Foster Care

Self-sabotage in foster care placements

24 Legislative Update Next steps for child care: Robust reforms mark two decades to reach reauthorization

12

Building the Consumer Voice How executive functioning, resilience, and leadership capacity are leading the way

26 Partnering for Impact

Improving father engagement in Texas home visiting programs

28 Technology Speaks

ConneCT creates modernized health and human service delivery

30 Locally Speaking

Cleveland County Department of Social Services saves $10,000 in county dollars while helping county citizens in need of food

16

Pathway to Reform Using authentic engagement to revamp Michigan’s child welfare system financing

32 Legal Notes Financial eligibility criteria to be a foster or adoptive parent

38 Staff Spotlight

Shakieta Campbell, administrative assistant for the legislative affairs department and the AAICPC interstate division

40 Our Do’ers Profile Frank L. Alexander, director of the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services

20

The 21st Century Workforce Guiding human service

leaders as they prepare their organizations for the future

Cover photograph via Shutterstock

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

INDUSTRY PARTNERS Platinum Level

APHSA Board of Directors Officers President Raquel Hatter , Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Human Services, David Stillman, Assistant Secretary, Economic Services Administration, Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Olympia, Wash. Treasurer, Local Council Representative Kelly Harder, Director, Dakota County Community Services, West Saint Paul, Minn. Secretary Tracy Wareing Evans, Executive Director, APHSA Past President Reggie Bicha, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Human Services, Denver, Colo. Director Eric M. Bost, Assistant Director of External Relations, Borlaug Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas Director Mimi Corcoran, Independent Consultant, Harrison, N.Y. Director Susan Dreyfus, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, Milwaukee, Wis. Director Reiko Osaki, President and Founder, Ikaso Consulting, Burlingame, Calif. Affiliate Representative, American Association of PublicWelfare Attorneys Ed Watkins, Assistant Deputy Counsel, Bureau of Child Care Law, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Rensselaer, N.Y. Nashville, Tenn. Vice President

INDUSTRY PARTNERS Platinum Level

Vision: Better, Healthier Lives for Children, Adults, Families and Communities Mission: APHSA pursues excellence in health and human services by supporting state and local agencies, informing policymakers, and working with our partners to drive innovative, integrated and efficient solutions in policy and practice.

ToChallengeandEquipOrganizations toTurnGood Intent intoMeasurableChangebyRelatingE orts toOutcomes Silver Level

ToChallengeandEquipOrganizations toTurnGood Intent intoMeasurableChangebyRelatingE orts toOutcomes Silver Level

KPMG International’sTrademarks are the sole property of KPMG International and their use here does not imply auditing by or endorsement of KPMG International or any of its member firms. KPMG International’s Trademarks are the sole property of KPMG International and their use here does not imply auditing by or endorsement of KPMG International or any of its member firms.

2

Policy&Practice   April 2015

director‘s memo By Tracy Wareing Evans

Previewing APHSA’s 2015 National Policy Forum

E ach year the nation’s leaders in human services come together at APHSA’s National Policy Forum to discuss issues affecting their programs, to learn from each other, and to hear from some of the most important voices in the country about what to expect in the future. APHSA is the only national associa- tion representing state human service departments, making our National Policy Forum a tremendous opportu- nity for organizations to exhibit and demonstrate some of the most exciting and innovative practices in the field. Those of us involved in the forum view it as a key to continuing to build on our commitment to evolve the delivery of human services. The National Policy Forum will be held June 8–10 at the Marriott Georgetown in Washington, D.C. You can register to attend on our web site at http://aphsa.org/content/APHSA/en/ events/CONFERENCES.html. The environment in the nation’s capital has changed and that change is reflected in many of the policy debates surrounding issues such as reshaping the financing of the child welfare system, improving child care, oversight of SNAP, and budget cuts via sequestra- tion. With new leadership in Congress, there are national debates shaping up over how best to deliver services. It is with that in mind that APHSA has put together an agenda to examine those

Donna Brazile

Arthur C. Brooks

to CNN and ABC, where she regularly appears on “This Week.” Brazile was included in O maga- zine’s first-ever list of 20 “remarkable visionaries,” and Washingtonian magazine named her among its “100 Most Powerful Women,” while Essence magazine listed her as one of the “Top 50 Women in America.” Brazile also received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s highest award for political achievement. Aside from working for the full recovery of her native New Orleans, Brazile’s passion is encouraging young people to vote, working within the political system in order to strengthen it, and running for public office. Her presentation will cover our current political environ- ment, hot-topic legislation, campaigns, and voting. Also appearing as a keynote speaker at this year’s forum is Arthur C. Brooks,

debates and to help participants under- stand what is being discussed and the consequences of some of the decisions being made. This year we have two very exciting speakers lined up. One of our keynote speakers, Donna Brazile, is a veteran political strategist, an adjunct pro- fessor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, and vice chair of voter registration and par- ticipation at the Democratic National Committee. She is the author of the best-selling memoir, Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, and is an on-air contributor

It seems that every yearwe say theNational Policy Forum will be the “best ever.” Having said that, I truly believe that will be the case this year. Our agenda is aimed at inspiring participants to think about the delivery of human services and to joinwithAPHSA inworking to improve the system.

See Director’s Memo on page 39

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

Vol. 73, No. 2

www.aphsa.org

Policy & Practice™ (ISSN 1942-6828) is published six times a year by the American Public Human Services Association, 1133 Nineteenth Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036. For subscription information, contact APHSA at (202) 682-0100 or visit the web site at www.aphsa.org. Copyright © 2015. All rights reserved.This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher.The viewpoints expressed in contributors’ materials are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of APHSA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Policy & Practice 1133 Nineteenth Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

2015 EVENTS & CONFERENCES

P I T T S B U R G H , P A *

S E A T T L E , W A

R E N O , N V

APRIL 20-22 American Public Human Services Association Local Council Retreat Advancing the Local Policy Agenda

APRIL 24-28 Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Annual Meeting Establishing Uniform Legal and Administrative Procedures Governing the Interstate Placement of Children

NOVEMBER 8-11 American Association of SNAP Directors Annual Education Conference Strengthening Long Term Family Health and Well-Being

S E A T T L E , W A

N A S H V I L L E , T N *

NOVEMBER 8-11 American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys Annual Training and Education Conference Attorneys Sharing Knowledge and Promoting Innovation

MAY 1-3 American Public Human Services Association CEO Retreat Connecting Cabinet Level Human Service Leaders

INFLUENCE BUILD CONNECT 2015

D E N V E R , C O

W A S H I N G T O N , D C

JUNE 5-7 National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators Annual Meeting Developing Public Child Welfare Agencies to Improve Performance and Consumer Outcomes

OCTOBER 4-7 National Staff Development and Training Association Annual Conference Sharing Ideas and Resources on Organizational Development, Staff Development and Training

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P H I L A D E L P H I A , P A AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 2 IT Solutions Management for Human Services Annual Conference Sharing Innovative Solutions, Connecting IT Professionals, Collaborating with Private Sector Partners

S A V A N N A H , G A

JUNE 8-10 American Public Human Services Association National Policy Forum Forging Pathways to Innovation

AUGUST 10-13 National Association for Program Information and Performance Measurement Annual Education Conference Enhancing the Integrity and Outcomes of Human Service Programs

Join Us REGISTER NOW

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

* by invite only

spotlight on foster care

By Marlo Nash

Engaging Youth Voices: Basing Policy Changes in Daily Realities

E ach year, the National Foster Youth Institute works in coordination with FosterClub, Foster Youth In Action, the Foster Care Alumni Association and the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth to host Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Day. About 70 members of Congress are paired with young leaders who are currently or formerly in the foster care system in their states. The event is held in May to commemorate National Foster Care Month. For the last two years, the youth have also met with high-ranking officials from the White House and the Obama Administration. “It touched my heart in a way nothing else has and, plus, who doesn’t want White House bragging rights?” said Antoinette Conway, 2014 Shadow Day participant. The goal of Shadow Day is to create a moment of opportunity for policy- makers to see the systems, for which they are responsible, through the eyes of the children whose best hope is that government investments will give them permanency, safety, healing, and support for healthy development. Conway added that the program allows the voices of foster care youth to be heard. “We sometimes feel like we don’t have a voice because we didn’t choose to be in the system, we didn’t choose our new families, or schools, or cars, or to be broke, or to ask for all the mental illness that you feel. But with Shadow Day, we choose what’s working and what’s not. We choose to have a voice, and we feel like it’s been heard,” he said. Conversations during Shadow Day serve to remind federal leaders that

Participants in the 2014 Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Day.

policies may have unintended con- sequences on the ground,” Hodge said. “For a group of people who were unaccustomed to even having any control over their own placements, it was exhilarating to be in the nation’s capital speaking to officials about what improvements could be made to the system as a whole.” Shadow Day 2014 informed a series of executive actions from the Obama Administration and from Vice President Biden, released in May and December 2014, respectively. In January, President Obama included recommendations from foster youth in his 2015 budget. And their voices were heard. The youth who participated in

meeting investment needs are not only a desired systems outcome, but must also be a part of the daily experi- ence each child has while in the care of systems. Weaving real-life stories together with the intricacies of leg- islative details can facilitate policy changes that are grounded in the day- to-day realities of the young people graduate and 2014 Shadow Day partici- pant, said that the day allows for foster youth to interact with policy makers and have a level of influence in their future. “It is absolutely vital for government agencies who design and operate the foster care system to create opportuni- ties to receive feedback from foster youth, because often times public who are living within systems. Jason Hodge, a recent college

See Youth on page 39

Photograph courtesy of National Foster Youth Institute

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

spotlight on foster care By Daniel Pollack

Self-Sabotage in Foster Care Placements

W e like to think that we con- sistently act in our own best interests. But sometimes, for a variety of reasons, we find ourselves behaving in ways that interfere with our long- term goals. Human communication, including self-communication, is inherently imbued with the potential for misunderstanding, and therefore results may be second best or even det- rimental. Self-sabotage affects people in politics, education, sports, science, business, and yes, human services. A positive foster care placement is one in which both the foster parents and child feel emotionally safe and con- nected. Though many foster parents strive to create such an environment, some children in foster care sabotage their placements. This article briefly looks at two aspects of this issue: First, how and why do children sabotage their own placements? Second, within normative legal parameters, how can human service staff address this? How and Why Do Children SabotageTheir Foster Placements? Self-sabotage may occur for a variety of reasons. It may happen if the foster child misperceives a communica- tion from a foster parent or someone else in the foster family, interpreting their words or behavior in a way that seems threatening. Given the child’s developmental level and limited social repertoire, the child may lack the nec- essary sophistication to distinguish between a simple misunderstanding, a misinterpretation of intent, or a com- munication that was in fact negative or spiteful. Fearing danger, the child may unnecessarily have a fight-or-flight

FIGURE 1: CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE IN FY 2012: NUMBER OF CHILDREN BY NUMBER OF PLACEMENTS 2

300,000

259,638

250,000

234,790

41.7%

37.7%

200,000

150,000

100,000

66,409

62,104

50,000

10.7%

10.0%

0

1

2-3

4-5

6

Placement: The number of places the child has lived, including the current setting, during the current removal episode. Does not include trial home visits. Children: Number of children served during FY 2012. Does not include children over 18 at the end of FY 2012. Source: Calculation of Mary Eschelbach Hansen from public use AFCARS Foster Care file.

reaction. A foster child who fears rejec- tion may choose to behave in a way that preemptively rejects the foster parent. Alternatively, foster children may unconsciously fashion impedi- ments to success that can later be used as excuses for their poor performance. They may also punish themselves, either physically or psychologically, in order to avoid embarrassment, gain social acceptance, or simply to appear hardened and tough. Similarly, they may harm themselves for perceived offenses, thereby reconstructing a sense of justice and evading punish- ment from others, especially authority figures. Last, self-destructive behaviors

may involve pursuing goals that are unproductive or likely to fail. For all of the aforementioned reasons, self- sabotaging behavior may temporarily alleviate a child’s perceived discom- fort, while inadvertently jeopardizing their long-term needs. What Can Human Service Staff Do? The impact of self-sabotaging a placement is often the replacement of a child (see Figure 1), and multiple placements frequently result in behav- ioral and education problems. 1 Legally, children in out-of-home placements

See Placements on page 38

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

Illustration by Chris Campbell

8

Policy&Practice   April 2015

MEETING PEOPLE

WHERE

THEY

ARE

Increasing Financial Well-Being Through Integrating Financial Capability Services

A shlee Reed is a Massachusetts resident, Head Start teacher, college graduate, and a mom struggling every month to stretch a dollar. She lives in Section 8 housing with her three children and their father, who was recently laid-off from being a cook in a college cafeteria. She brings home $357 per week in take-home pay during the 44-week school year. Because she is a Head Start teacher, Ashlee does not earn an income when school is closed during the summer. She does her best to prepare for this gap in income over the year by saving as much as she can. Ashlee owes $25,000 in educational debt and $4,000 to five different credit card companies. Every month she pays $360 toward her student loans to avoid default and can often only manage paying the minimum payment on her credit cards. She has little to no savings and often relies on credit cards during times of finan- cial emergency, such as when she does not have income in the summer months. Ashlee Reed is one of the families featured in the book, It’s Not Like I’m Poor, by Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes. Millions of American households, like Ashlee’s, are strug- gling. Public social service agencies are poised to address in real, meaningful ways the financial challenges Ashlee and other households face. By integrating financial skills, knowledge, and resources into various social service delivery platforms, agencies can create long-term solutions for house- holds and decrease reliance on government income supports. By Kate Griffin, Jeremie Greer, and Alicia Atkinson

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

Many low- and moderate-income

The Great Recession eroded years of wealth building, making family house- hold finances incredibly unstable. Many families lost thousands of dollars in housing wealth and business equity, took on unsustainably high levels of debt, and tanked their credit. Between 2007 and 2010, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that median household wealth dropped 39 percent—with younger families, individuals with less than a college education, and households of color suf- fering particularly large wealth losses. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has coined this recession a “balance sheet recession” due to the extreme loss of net worth it caused. A balance sheet changes with the household’s rising or falling savings, debt, income, and expenses; all of these components affect a family’s financial well-being. HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS ARE LOW According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s (CFED) 2015 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, 44 percent of Americans are “liquid asset poor,” meaning they have less than three months’ worth of savings (approximately $5,963 for a family of four, or three times a monthly income at the poverty level). These families are living one financial emergency away from ruin. This group includes many who would consider themselves middle class—fully one-quarter (25 percent) of those earning between $56,113 and $91,356 annually are liquid asset poor. These rates are even higher for house- holds of color; two-thirds of households of color live in liquid asset poverty. For short- or long-term savings, such as for retirement or for a downpayment on a house, individuals need access to safe, affordable financial products. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports that 1 in 13 households were unbanked in 2013 while an additional 1 in 5 banked households used an alter- native financial service to meet their banking needs. The highest unbanked rates continued to be found among communities of color, lower- income

households, younger households, and unemployed households. The lack of access to mainstream financial products and services decreases house- holds’ ability to save and increases household vulnerability. With no savings and no place to save, families often resort to high-cost credit cards or payday lenders during financial emer- gencies, creating a cycle of debt that can last for years. HOUSEHOLD DEBT IS HIGH Debt is a fixture in the majority of Americans’ lives. CFED’s 2015 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard found the average amount of revolving debt is $9,890 for an individual, while the average student is graduating with $28,400 of debt from a four-year institution. Debt can be mentally taxing to households and can delay buying a house or investing in other long-term assets. Additionally, more than half of consumers have subprime credit scores, meaning they cannot qualify for credit or financing at prime rates. With the majority of consumers receiving credit at higher interest rates, the probability they will tap into preda- tory financial services and accumulate even more debt is high. households experience significant fluctuations in income frommonth to month in both amount and timing as they seek additional opportunities to stitch a livable income together. Income fluctuations create problems even for households whose finances are adequate on average over the course of the year.

Kate Griffin is the vice

president of Programs at the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED).

Jeremie Greer is the vice president of Policy and Research at CFED.

Alicia Atkinson is a policy analyst on the Policy and Research team at CFED.

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND EXPENSES ARE OFTEN ERRATIC AND INCONSISTENT

SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY These economic trends create significant financial challenges for households outside of the core issue that social service agencies address. For example, research by the Urban Institute found that individuals enter the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program with four or five financial challenges in addition to being unemployed. Addressing financial challenges is a “win-win” situation for social service agencies, clients, These numerous financial challenges can have an impact on the success of the social service programs’ efforts to help individuals reach an economic mile- stone. For instance, while workforce programs connect them to employment opportunities, without addressing outside financial challenges such as a lack of savings, individuals may struggle to retain their work during a financial emergency, such as a costly car repair or a sudden loss in child care. Financial capability is “the capa- bility, based on knowledge, skills and access, to manage financial resources effectively,” according to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. Services include helping clients understand how to establish and build credit, how to budget, or how to decrease debt. These services are combined with support in employers, and the economy as a whole.

accessing safe and affordable financial products that allow individuals to save and build credit. The habit of savings, sticking to a budget, and managing debt, combined with the right tools, can help households stabilize for years after services are provided. Social service agencies have the infrastructure and scale to deliver financial capability services to some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, not only improving the long-term financial stability of their clients but also boosting overall outcomes for the agency. Integration capitalizes on times when people are already interacting with a social service organization and poised to achieve a financial milestone. In this way, clients believe that the information is relevant and they are able to put what they’ve learned into action immediately. Human service programs with clear programmatic goals—such as getting people housing and employment—can reach those goals faster and more sustainably by integrating financial capability services. One example of the impact of inte- grating financial capability services can be found in the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) in New York City, which was launched in 2006 in an effort to help low- and moderate-income households build assets and make the most of their financial resources. OFE partners with various local organiza- tions to provide financial empowerment services. A 2014 OFE evaluation found that clients at one partner organiza- tion who received financial counseling, which included reviewing credit reports, establishing budgets, opening checking or savings accounts, along with employment services, had higher job placement rates compared to clients

CFED’s 2015 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard found one-quarter of jobs are in low-wage occupations. Many low- and moderate-income households experience significant fluctuations in income from month to month in both amount and timing as they seek addi- tional opportunities to stitch a livable income together. In-depth qualitative research by the Center for Financial Services Innovation has found these inconsistencies are because of multiple jobs, seasonal work, or jobs that provide irregular income. Multiple jobs involve different pay schedules and pay rates that require sophisti- cated budgeting in order to pay bills on time and save for the future. Income fluctuations create problems even for households whose finances are adequate on average over the course of the year. Income for millions of families is low and necessities such as housing, food, utilities, daycare, and transporta- tion often take up entire paychecks, making saving for the future or an emergency nearly impossible. Research from It’s Not Like I’m Poor found that housing takes up 25 percent of a household’s budget and transpor- tation takes up 14 percent. Unexpected financial emergencies, such as an emergency room visit or car repair, don’t often match up with infusions of cash, such as yearly tax benefits. If the savings are not there at the time of high and unexpected expenses, families will inevitably take on more debt, decreasing long-term financial freedom and security. These economic trends affect the financial well-being of all Americans.

See Financial Capability on page 33

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

Illustration by Chris Campbell

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

BUILDING THE

CONSUMER VOICE

How Executive Functioning, Resilience, and Leadership Capacity Are Leading the Way

By Phil Basso, Janice Gruendel, Karen Key, Jennifer MacBlane, and Jill Reynolds

Within the realm of scientific advances broadly writ—from the neuroscience of human development and the impact of adversity on that development, to implementation science related to policy, practice, and program change— we stand at the doorway of great opportunity.

13

April 2015   Policy&Practice

In other words, building skills and capacities increases one’s ability to set and achieve goals, which, in turn, strengthens skills and capaci- ties, creating an upward spiral of momentum, growth, and achievement until one’s goals are reached. Without this understanding, the assumption in working with individuals has often been that the measure of success in skill building is the achievement of certain life events—for example, grad- uating from high school or obtaining a job. However, without the ability to set broader goals and work toward them, even the achievement of a milestone event can prove disappointingly limited in its impact on the longer term life course. Students who are supported in graduating from high school may disappoint adults and those who work with them with their next set of choices and outcomes, leaving program evaluators musing over the reason that ”success” doesn’t always translate into the longer-term, self- sustaining benefits envisioned. A traditional way of thinking about this, then, looks more like the graphic below: When an individual is taught skills that enable him or her to achieve someone else’s goals, that individual has won a battle today but may still lose the proverbial war. A high school diploma or an entry-level job without the ability to identify and move toward the next milestone will not produce and sustain the hoped-for outcomes. But a person who is capable of goal setting and achievement is able to continue to shape his or her destiny. In this way then, capacity building around executive functioning, resilience, and leadership develop- ment holds the potential to deliver much more powerful results for the whole person over time than other interventions.

A number of health and human service practice models and frameworks hold promise for field innovation and a resulting advance in desired client and organizational outcomes. Consistent with the principles of APHSA’s Pathways initiative, perhaps of greatest interest at this time are frameworks that hold the most potential for building capacity at the individual, community, agency, and partnership levels. These skill-building and capacity-ori- ented frameworks focus on executive functioning, resilience, and leadership development. Each of these frame- works draws attention and interest from a subset of experts and practitio- ners who are working to advance them in both theory and practice. To date, however, efforts appear to be lacking to “cross walk” them and explore the ways in which they might, together, comprise a more powerful, holistic approach to individual, organizational, and community development across popu- lations, settings, and challenges. THE PROMISE OF CAPACITY-BUILDING FOCUS One of the compelling consequences of building these skills and capaci- ties is that they are critical to setting and moving toward one’s life goals. Without these capacities, people and organizations are impaired in their ability to imagine a different future and move toward it. Research on people impacted by trauma, for instance, shows that trauma impairs an individual’s ability to “live from the future.” Without that capacity—the ability to envision, select, and work toward one’s life goals, shaping one’s experiences versus primarily reacting to them—the skills and capacities one gains may amount to a pyrrhic victory. One can become better equipped for a journey but never set a destination or take the trip. This important interrelationship might be described visually as follows:

Phil Basso is the deputy executive director at the American Public Human Services Association.

Janice Gruendel is a fellow at the Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University.

Karen Key is the president and CEO at Heller Key Management Consulting.

Jennifer MacBlane is a senior advisor with the Public Consulting Group.

Jill Reynolds is an associate manager with the Public Consulting Group.

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

THE SEEDS OF PRACTICE AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION: A PARALLEL PROCESS DRIVING BETTER OUTCOMES The overarching vision of this approach is to help advance inno- vative practice through a unifying framework, at both the casework and organization-wide levels. This innovative framework could improve both organizational functioning and individual and community outcomes— through building capacity in executive functioning, resilience, and leader- ship—concurrently. A parallel process emerges through the convergence of frameworks and strategies for both the people served by a system and for the improvement of the system itself. The theory of change connecting capacity to outcomes envisioned in Figure 2 on page 34. In a system that forges the parallel process suggested here, caseworkers may come to view adversity, hardship, and various stressors as the expe- riential basis for capacity-building development and targeted interven- tions. This could occur through an engagement process that guides individuals and families to assess their current capacity across the underlying capacity drivers and in line with their goals and needs, and then customize capacity-building plans that leverage current strengths and address the reasons for current gaps. Agencies would, at the same time, frame their own capacity-building needs in the same manner, using the same underlying drivers for building their executive functioning, resilience, and leadership capacity—using their resulting assessments to design and improve their selection, performance improvement, reward, succession planning, employee retention, and staff development programs. CURRENT INNOVATIONS Many examples and demonstra- tions already exist from which to expand these practice innovations and strengthen the parallel process con- nections that are possible. The mental

three areas of capacity building. These related capacities are driven by similar underlying skills and attributes as illustrated in Figure 1. EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING, RESILIENCE, AND LEADERSHIP: RELATED SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES While a complete convergence of these areas and drivers is an open question, the possibilities borne by more closely linking these separate constructs have powerful implications. All three of these capacity-building areas can be “unlocked” through an understanding of trauma and hardship, and they can be used to address the “upstream” risk factors related to later trauma and performance challenges. Trauma in high dose and/or duration negatively affects the brain. Yet various forms of hardship, adversity, and stress present opportunities for engaging individuals, families, organiza- tions, and communities in reflection, improvement, and growth.

Given the parallel process that occurs when organizations embrace this capacity building for themselves, the results for the whole system over time has equally exciting potential impact. Instead of operating in a regu- lative mode—ensuring compliance to current policies and regulations— organizations with highly developed capacities in these three areas can more readily determine and achieve innovative strategies while also adapting them to an ever-changing, challenging environment. Thus, more empowered and effective people are working with organiza- tions that are more empowered and effective. The potential upward spiral is very significant for our field and the society writ large. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CAPACITY-BUILDING CONVERGENCE Important work is currently underway to understand and apply effective practices within each of these

FIGURE 1: Executive Functioning, Resilience, and Leadership: Related Skills and Attributes

See Consumer Voice on page 34

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

PATHWAY TO REFORM

Using Authentic Engagement to Revamp Michigan’s Child Welfare System Financing

By Nancy Kunkler

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

It wasn’t for lack of trying that led the Michigan Department of Human Services in 2013 to attempt overhauling how the state of Michigan financed its child welfare system. In fact, in the last 50 years, there were numerous unsuccessful efforts at reform.

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

“We would’ve been dead in the water was it not for transparency. I think the second thing that the teamdid outside of the meeting itself was they made themselves available to have contacts with numerous parties that couldn’t be at the table.”

— STEVE YAGER, DIRECTOR OF THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES ADMINISTRATION AT THE MICHIGAN DHS

the Child Welfare Performance- Based Funding Task Force to deliver its assessment and phased imple- mentation timeline to the Michigan legislature by the March 1, 2014 deadline. “Going beyond transactional part- nerships to achieve transformational partnerships was absolutely crucial,” says Dreyfus. “In this time of epochal change, process matters, and what we accomplished in Michigan is a perfect example of that.” ENGAGING THE STAKEHOLDERS A main objective of the Alliance Engagement Team was to ensure all stakeholder voices involved were heard. Individual workgroups within the task force, each with distinct agendas, were co-created and staffed by stakeholders and members of the Alliance Engagement Team to involve more individuals and leverage their many skills in assessing and devel- oping the pathway to reform. The Alliance Engagement Team also contributed insight on topics ranging from the development of program metrics and data to the nuances of federal funding. The team’s combina- tion of experience and knowledge helped the Child Welfare Performance- Based Funding Task Force identify barriers in practice, policy, budget, and regulatory environment within the state’s child welfare system, in addition to allocating and maximizing available resources. “I feel it was very helpful to have the Alliance Engagement Team create a big picture, set out the structure for how the planning stage would move forward, and actually do the tedious work of writing the report,” says Judge Kenneth Tacoma, who represented the Michigan Probate Judges Association

interests, without political interests, and truly drive the facilitation process from an objective standpoint.” To ensure the voices of stake- holders were truly represented, DHS established the Child Welfare Performance-Based Funding Task Force that encompassed representa- tion of public and private providers, the courts, the counties, and the legislature. Then, DHS turned to the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, an organization with a national network of nearly 500 private nonprofit human-serving organiza- tions, to facilitate such an effort with the task force. Specifically, DHS Director Maura Corrigan contacted Alliance President and CEO Susan Dreyfus—who was previously the secretary for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the administrator of the Division of Children and Family Services for Wisconsin. Dreyfus’s background in the public and private sectors allowed her to assemble the Alliance Engagement Team to support the Child Welfare Performance-Based Funding Task Force in planning the new funding system in order to meet the shared goal of better outcomes for children and families, while also satis- fying stakeholders’ individual concerns and unique issues. In addition to Dreyfus, the team of industry-specific experts included: Š Š Bill Fiss, former deputy admin- istrator, Wisconsin Division of Children and Family Services Š Š Beth Skidmore, president and CEO, Skidmore and Company Š Š Jennifer Haight, senior researcher, Chapin Hall

“You can look back in records over many years and see cycle after cycle where attempts were made,” says Steve Yager, director of the Children’s Services Administration at the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS). Rather, it was the enduring goal to do right by the children and families the system serves daily. In 2013 the Michigan Legislature once again requested DHS to assess the feasibility of overhauling the financing model. This time, there were conditions that the funding plan be based on performance, that a wide range of stakeholders be involved, and that the planning and feasibility testing period be completed in a six- month timeframe. DHS determined that one of the keys to success would be to engage a third-party facilitator that could lead impartially while engaging each of the integral stake- holder groups and understanding the viewpoints of each. “It was fundamentally critical to have whoever was going to facilitate and lead this work be neutral,” says Yager. “Folks would have trust and con- fidence in this neutral party so it could lead the group forward objectively without preconceived conclusions. So we were looking for a group that could come to the table without state

Nancy Kunkler is the public

relations manager at the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities.

The guidance and experience of the Alliance Engagement Team allowed

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Policy&Practice   April 2015

This orientation led to a strong sense of trust and equality among stakeholders, affirming their collective decisions as the pathway evolved. This trust was anchored by the emphasis on transpar- ency and shared responsibility. With stakeholders representing a variety of viewpoints, openness kept the process moving forward. The Alliance Engagement Team accom- plished the critical goal of encouraging as much transparency as possible to ensure that all opinions were heard and acknowledged. “We would’ve been dead in the water was it not for transparency,” says Yager. “I think the second thing that the team did outside of the meeting itself was they made themselves avail- able to have contacts with numerous parties that couldn’t be at the table. I know [Dreyfus] and I did regular calls with the Probate Judges Association, for example, so we met with them, talked with constituent stakeholders, gave them updates.”

on the task force. “Then, the task force and the work groups could work from that template.” Another factor in the ultimate success of the effort was the Alliance Engagement Team’s authentic engage- ment approach. This entire process is one example of how authentic engagement can be used to tackle highly complex issues with multiple stakeholders. At its core, the process of authentic engagement is about working within a group or community, evaluating its strengths, and empow- ering it to use its diverse resources to meet goals. “When looking to establish sus- tainable change in systems or communities, conversations are often dominated by the complications and challenges inherent within,” explains Dreyfus. “We set out to listen to the people most closely aligned with Michigan’s child welfare system. Process matters—and engaging these individuals by acknowledging their unique perspectives and strengths in the name of sustainable change was key to our success.”

The stakeholders in Michigan rec- ognized that while obligated to fulfill certain individual aims on behalf of their constituencies, positively impacting children and families was the prevailing goal. “When you graph out and create a schematic that portrays the current state of affairs in Michigan and then look to how you would improve that pathway in order to better serve and have better outputs and outcomes for kids and families, it was very empow- ering to me and very enlightening,” says Cameron Hosner, president and CEO of Judson Center in Royal Oak, Mich. TRANSPARENCY AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITY Even with being guided by the shared goal to do what was best for the children and families of Michigan, whenever conflicting perspectives and priorities of the stakeholders arose with the potential to cloud the path forward and possibly delay the process, the Alliance Engagement Team helped participants to resolve differences.

See Financing Reform on page 37

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April 2015   Policy&Practice

Illustration by Chris Campbell

Policy&Practice   April 2015 20

The 21 st Century workforce

By Anita Light, Brian Howells, and Charmaine Brittain

A ny leader of a forward-thinking and progressive business or organization would naturally identify a set of knowledge and skills necessary for an employee to advance a product line or deliver a service. And that same leader would also be intentional in the use of valuable resources to onboard, develop, and train that employee in order to build capacity within the organization to support its value proposition. Leaders in human services are no different! As we think about what is needed in a modern human-serving workforce in order to understand and meet the complex needs of children and adults, it makes sense for leaders to adopt best and current practices when recruiting, hiring, developing, and sustaining the workforce for the future.

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“In order to stem the tide of turnover – TAMILA LAY, DIVISION DIRECTOR FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING IN PENNSYLVANIA _ and to do so within a system capable of adopting modern human resource strategies and constant technology advances, by managing generational workforce transitions, and by deliv- ering services through a program integration lens. Leaders of human services must position their organizations to accom- plish these while, at the same time, facing the fact that a large segment of their workforce is now, or will soon be, eligible for retirement. Leaders will need to keep cognizant of skill gaps among all staff, provide an engaging workplace for younger workers, and develop retention strategies aimed at holding on to top talent. “In order to stem the tide of turn-over and per- petual training of the next generation’s workforce, we must work to make a career in human services as attractive as any other field,” said Tamila Lay, division director of Employment and Training in Pennsylvania. Assessing the Workforce Landscape As an initial effort to assess the thinking of human service leaders on what skills and environment are needed in the future, the Workforce subcommittee sent a survey to more than 100 leaders of state and county human service agencies in addition to the program leaders of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and perpetual training of the next generation’s workforce, we must work to make a career in human services as attractive as any other field.”

APHSA’s National Workgroup on Integration (NWI) Workforce Subcommittee will provide guidance on this task in 2015 and their efforts began with a survey of human service leaders on their perceptions of the workforce of the future. In order to realize the vision for a transformed health and human services system— one that is modern, integrated, accountable for results, data driven, exemplifies strong community partner- ships, and is focused on outcomes—the human-serving workforce must be prepared to serve consumers using a practice model based on evidence

Anita Light is the director of the National Workgroup on Integration.

The Survey Results A total of 107 people responded to the survey representing a variety of human service agencies, including SNAP (35%), TANF (27%), Child Welfare (13%), and Child Care (12%). Respondents were asked to rank the top five skills most critical for a suc- cessful human service workforce of the future. They selected: 1. critical thinking skills 2. customer service orientation 3. communication skills 4. policy knowledge 5. resource/services knowledge The top three listed fall into the category of soft skills as being the most important for the future, while specific program and policy area knowledge was viewed as also being important. The shifting demand toward soft skills was also demonstrated as traditional

Brian Howells is the associate manager at Public Consulting Group and co-chair of theWorkforce Subcommittee for NWI.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Care, Child Welfare, and Child Care agencies requesting them to: > Identify the skills and characteristics they viewed as most critical for their workforce to succeed in the next three to five years, > Evaluate their agency’s readiness to address a variety of critical work- force areas such as recruitment, education and professional prepara- tion, performance management, professional development and training, working conditions, and supervision; and > Assess their staff’s ability to adapt to developing technologies and indicate additional supports to assist with this adoption.

Charmaine Brittain is the director of organizational development at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver.

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